The effort to build a second Buc-ee’s in Colorado has taken another major turn. A previous update on the proposed Colorado Buc-ee’s ended with a Buc-ee’s-linked company buying the disputed site near Interstate 25; now El Paso County has ruled that the proposed use fits the property’s existing zoning.
On August 27, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners decided that the proposed Buc-ee’s qualifies as an allowed use in the site’s C-1 commercial zoning district. The 4-1 decision followed a lengthy public hearing and gives the project a clearer path forward than it had earlier this year.
The vote did not approve construction
The distinction is important. El Paso County’s official update says the ruling only resolved the land-use classification question. It did not approve a site development plan, grading, drainage, traffic improvements, utilities, signage, lighting or building permits.
In other words, Buc-ee’s cannot simply start building tomorrow. The company still has to submit and secure the approvals required for the actual development.
Plans discussed during the dispute have described a travel center of roughly 74,000 square feet with about 120 fueling positions, although final development details could still change as new applications are reviewed.
Even so, the decision removes a significant obstacle. County planning staff had previously concluded that it was unclear whether a Buc-ee’s-style travel center fit the definition of a convenience store under the C-1 zoning rules. Buc-ee’s appealed that determination and won.
The project has already survived one failed route
The proposed store would sit near I-25 and County Line Road on Monument Hill, north of Colorado Springs. Buc-ee’s originally pursued the project through an annexation into Palmer Lake, but that effort became one of the region’s most contentious land-use fights.
Opponents raised concerns about traffic, water, nearby open space and the scale of the development. The annexation application was withdrawn in February 2026, which initially made the project look dead.
Then a Buc-ee’s-linked company purchased the property and shifted the approval strategy to El Paso County, where the land already carries commercial zoning.
Colorado currently has one Buc-ee’s, in Johnstown north of Denver. The Monument Hill project would give the chain a second I-25 location and a much stronger presence along the Front Range.
But it is still too early to call this an approved Buc-ee’s. The August vote was a major win for the developer, not a building permit. The next real test will be whether the required site plans, traffic work and construction approvals move through the county without another major delay.
Links on this page may be affiliate links, for which the site earns a small commission, but the price for you is the same
Leave a Comment